The 22 universities that spend at least $120 million annually on their sports teams

The Ohio State University and the University of Oklahoma spend the most on their college sports teams.

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images; Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

• College sports make big money, but some schools earn a lot more than others.
• That money is typically pumped back into the programs in pursuit of championships and TV ratings.
• Due in large part to football, there is a huge economic divide between men's and women's teams.

When it comes to college sports, there is a huge divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the former get to spend a lot more on their teams.

Previously, we looked at the 23 schools with the highest college sports revenues. Below, we look at the schools that spend the most and how that money is allocated.

We used data made available by the US Department of Education and calculated the average total expenses for athletic programs over the three most recent years available, 2020 through 2022. Major costs include operating expenses, such as hosting a sporting event, salaries for coaches and support staff, recruiting, and facility improvements.

The most expensive program on campus is typically the football team, where schools make a lot of money off TV contracts and pump a lot of back into coaches and facilities, hoping to lure the top players. As a result, there is a huge economic divide between the men's and women's sports teams.

Of the 22 schools listed below, the average school spends $142 million on their sports teams. Nearly half, or about $65 million, is spent on men's teams, almost three times the $23 million on women's teams. The rest goes to non-gender-specific operating costs, facilities, and the occasional co-ed athletics team.

22. University of California, Los Angeles

UCLA football coach Chip Kelly.

Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Conference: Pac-12 (Will join Big Ten in 2024)

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $120 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $120 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $53 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $23 million

21. Clemson University

Dabo Swinney walks onto the field with Clemson players.

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Conference: ACC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $124 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $124 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $67 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $17 million

20. University of Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers Athletic Director Chris McIntosh.

John Fisher/Getty Images

Conference: Big Ten

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $130 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $124 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $49 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $23 million

19. Florida State University

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell.

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Conference: ACC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $134 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $127 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $67 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $18 million

18. University of Arkansas

Fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $137 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $128 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $64 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $22 million

17. University of Louisville

Louisville Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne.

Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Conference: ACC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $130 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $129 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $56 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $20 million

16. University of Georgia

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $184 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $134 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $67 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $20 million

15. University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky Wildcats.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $135 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $135 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $60 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $19 million

14. Auburn University

Independence, the Auburn University eagle mascot.

Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $152 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $135 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $73 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $24 million

13. University of Tennessee

Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers.

Eakin Howard/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $140 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $136 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $58 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $21 million

12. University of South Carolina

South Carolina marching band.

Bill Frakes/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $139 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $137 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $57 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $22 million

11. Texas A&M University

Texas A&M's Kyle Field.

Replay Photos/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $150 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $139 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $66 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $25 million

10. Stanford University

Stanford Cardinal women's basketball head coach Tara VanDerveer

Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire

Conference: Pac-12 (Will join ACC in 2024)

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $139 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $139 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $51 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $31 million

9. University of Southern California

Miller Moss of the USC Trojans.

Brandon Sloter/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $146 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $146 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $63 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $21 million

8. University of Florida

Florida Gators cheerleaders.

James Gilbert/Getty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $147 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $147 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $61 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $22 million

7. University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.

Brandon Sloter/Getty Images

Conference: ACC (independent in football)

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $170 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $150 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $78 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $23 million

6. Louisiana State University

LSU Football Fans.

John Korduner/Icon Sportswire

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $158 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $154 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $64 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $23 million

5. University of Michigan

Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines and Will Tschetter.

Luke Hales/Getty Images

Conference: Big Ten

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $170 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $155 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $73 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $28 million

4. University of Alabama

New Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Kalen Deboer.

Brandon SumrallGetty Images

Conference: SEC

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $180 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $157 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $82 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $22 million

3. University of Texas

Texas Longhorns mascot, Bevo.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Conference: Big 12 (will join the SEC in 2024)

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $191 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $164 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $70 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $23 million

2. University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners celebrate 2023 NCAA softball championship.

Tyler Schank/Getty Images

Conference: Big 12 (will join the SEC in 2024)

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $167 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $165 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $69 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $26 million

1. The Ohio State University

Mascot Brutus and the Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

Icon Sportswire

Conference: Big Ten

Average Annual Athletics Revenue: $204 million

Average Annual Athletics Expenses: $180 million

Average Expenses for all Men's Teams: $86 million

Average Expenses for all Women's Teams: $28 million

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House Republicans are moving forward with a bill that would overhaul student-loan repayment and make it harder for Biden to get relief to borrowers

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., attends a news conference featuring remarks by college students about antisemitism on college campuses, in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, December 5, 2023.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

• House Republicans are reviewing a bill that would overhaul the student-loan system.
• It proposes limits on the education secretary for getting new forms of relief to borrowers.
• Democrats introduced their own package to address student debt, but it's unlikely to advance. 

House Republicans are moving forward with a bill that could make it harder for student-loan borrowers to get new forms of relief.

On Wednesday, the House education committee is moving forward with review and debate over the College Cost Reduction Act, introduced by GOP chair of the committee Virginia Foxx in early January.

The legislation outlines a range of priorities, including strengthened guidelines for college accreditation, implementing caps on certain forms of financial aid, and limiting the education secretary's authority to implement new repayment and relief programs for borrowers.

While Foxx said in a statement that there is bipartisan agreement that student debt in the country is spiraling, there's likely to be some Democratic pushback when it comes to her proposals to put an end to President Joe Biden's efforts to shorten student-loan repayment for many borrowers.

"Student loan debt is skyrocketing, and completion rates are plummeting. There's bipartisan agreement that lasting reforms are needed to correct course," Foxx told Business Insider.

However, she said her plan is "a responsible alternative to the Biden administration's free college agenda, which is placing an enormous burden on students and taxpayers," she said. "This bill offers reforms to the Higher Education Act that will lower college costs, rein in executive overreach, and prevent colleges from endlessly raising the cost of tuition."

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have offered solutions to combat the student debt crisis, but there's disagreement on the best way to do so. The Education Department is in the process of implementing student-debt relief for borrowers after the Supreme Court struck down Biden's first attempt. Along with that relief, the department has also carried out targeted batches of forgiveness through account adjustments, along with upcoming relief through its new SAVE income-driven repayment plan.

However, many Republicans have opposed the department's efforts to make new repayment plans and implement streamlined processes for relief, saying the burden of debt forgiveness falls on taxpayers. Here's how Foxx's legislation would change things for borrowers.

What the GOP bill means for student-loan borrowers

Caps student borrowing. According to the bill's fact sheet, the bill would cap student-loan borrowing at $50,000 for undergraduate students, $100,000 for graduate students, and $150,000 for students in graduate professional programs.

The legislation would also sunset the grad and parent PLUS loan programs, which are loans graduate students and parents can take out in their own names to cover up to the full cost of attendance.

Business Insider has previously spoken to parents who have struggled to repay their PLUS loans due to the high-interest rates that can leave them with balances far larger than what they originally borrowed.

Streamlines repayment plans. When it comes to student-loan repayment in particular, the legislation aims to put constraints on the Education Department's ability to implement new programs. Specifically, the bill would establish two types of repayment plans: a 10-year "mortgage-style" plan and an income-driven repayment plan.

Limits debt relief. The fact sheet said the bill would prohibit "the Secretary from creating new repayment plans and from modifying an existing repayment plan in a manner that increases costs to the government."

The legislation would also repeal the Education Department's efforts to streamline the process for borrowers who say they were defrauded by their schools to get relief, along with rules that would ensure debt relief for borrowers whose schools abruptly shut down.

The education secretary would also be required to confirm that any new rules related to student-loan programs would not increase costs to the government — if they do, the rules cannot be implemented.

What Democrats are proposing

A day before the markup on the GOP bill, House Democrats on the education committee introduced their plan to address college affordability: the Roadmap to College Student Success.

It consists of a package of Democratic-led legislation that addresses strengthening the Pell Grant, improving the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and making student loans more affordable.

Other bills in the package touch on pricing transparency when students are applying for financial aid packages, along with partnerships with states to bolster tuition-free community college programs.

"This campaign has three main objectives: first, bring down the cost of college, second, help students access a quality degree, and third—once students are in school—provide them with the support they need to graduate," top Democrat on the committee Bobby Scott said in a video about the package.

"A college degree is the best investment students can make for their future," he said. "And, with our help, future generations may have the opportunity to enjoy the lifelong benefits that come with a college degree."

While Scott's proposal is unlikely to make headway in a GOP-controlled House, it's a reflection of where Democrats stand on college affordability — and where they differ with Republicans — ahead of the presidential election.

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Russian banks made a record $36.8 billion in profit last year, and even the central bank is surprised by it

Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Getty Images

• Russian banks made a record 3.3 trillion rubles, or $36.8 billion, in profits last year.
• It was driven by demand for mortgages and loans to finance large business acquisitions.
• Russia rolled out discount mortgages last year to support its sanctions-hit economy.

Even Russia's central bank is surprised by how well Russian banks did last year.

Russian banks made 3.3 trillion rubles, or $36.8 billion, last year, marking a record high, the country's central bank announced on Tuesday.

The performance came as “somewhat of a surprise,” said Alexander Danilov, the head of Russia's central bank's banking regulation department, according to the Financial Times.

The earnings are a massive jump from the sector's 200 billion-ruble profit in 2022 — when profits tanked 90% from a year earlier amid Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's banking sector's performance last year was spurred by demand for mortgages as well as loans to finance large business acquisitions, the central bank said in its statement on Tuesday.

Mortgage lending last year rose nearly 35% from a year ago as Russians rushed to buy homes on state-backed subsidized mortgage rates, said the central bank.

Russian authorities have started winding down the discounted mortgage program, the independent Russian news outlet The Bell reported in September. At the time, mortgage rates in Russia were around 15%, but the subsidized mortgage rate was 8%. Families got a bigger discount with a mortgage rate of 6%.

Meanwhile, corporate lending in Russia rose about 20% last year from a year ago, the country's central bank said on Tuesday. It didn't specify what the loans went to, but Russian businesses have been buying up assets from international firms that left the market.

The latest central bank report is another indication of unusual resilience in Russia's sanctions-hit economy nearly two years into its war in Ukraine.

Reports suggest that much of the country's growth is due to massive military and government spending.

However, Russia's economy runs the risk of overheating, the country's top central banker, Elvira Nabiullina, said in December as she hiked benchmark interest rates to 16% to cool demand.

On Tuesday, Russian central bank's Danilov said both consumer and corporate lending growth are expected to slow next year, in turn hitting bank profits, per Reuters.

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Apple has already sold more than 200,000 Vision Pro headsets, report says

Tim Cook and Apple Vision Pro

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

• Apple has already sold around 200,000 Vision Pro headsets, MacRumors reported.
• The headset sold out almost immediately after the preorders opened on January 19.
• Apple's Vision Pro officially launches in the US on February 2.

Apple has sold around 200,000 Vision Pro headsets since preorders opened, MacRumors reported, citing a source familiar with the company's sales numbers.

The headset, which officially launches in the US this Friday, sold out quickly for early orders. It became available on 19 January at 8 a.m. ET, and within hours, the shipping times had slipped from February to March.

TF International Securities analyst Min-Chi Kuo, who specializes in Apple's supply chain, previously estimated the company sold somewhere between 160,000 to 180,000 Vision Pro headsets, based on preorder inventory and shipping time.

Kuo correctly predicted the headset would sell out soon after the release, citing a smaller shipment and the product's sky-high price tag. He later said that further scrutiny of the preorder shipping times, which had slipped initially but then held steady, suggested that demand for these devices had tailed off.

Kuo said the Vision Pro was still "a very niche product" for now and that demand for it would likely "quickly taper off" after die-hard fans had placed their orders.

Representatives for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

The Vision Pro is Apple's first new product category since it announced the Apple Watch in 2014.

The device is a mixed-reality headset that aims to merge the user's virtual experience with their real-world surroundings. Early reviews of the headset have been largely positive, although the $3,500 price tag has raised eyebrows.

Apple is set to embark on its biggest hardware launch in a decade with the Vision Pro. Stores have been prepping for the launch for months, with free demos on offer for those who want to try out the tech.

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It already felt impossible to watch my favorite NFL team. The Peacock game means it could get worse.

Americans will have little trouble finding a Super Bowl broadcast. This isn't the norm for many NFL fans.

MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images

• It will be easy to watch the Super Bowl, but many NFL games are out of fans' reach.
• Fans of teams outside their local market are left with few options to watch some games.
• Priced at over $300 a year, NFL Sunday Ticket is an expensive solution.

Anyone with cable or a live TV streaming service shouldn't have any trouble watching the Super Bowl on February 11.

The game's widespread availability is among the reasons over half of Americans tuned in for last year's matchup and why this year's contest will likely be the most-watched television event of 2024.

But for many NFL fans, particularly those who live in a different state than the team they root for, watching football is rarely so easy. And I'm not just talking about the recent Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game that was available exclusively on Peacock.

Unless these "out of market" fans shell out hundreds of dollars a year, they're at risk of missing several of their team's games during the regular season.

As a Green Bay Packers fan who lives in New York, I'm familiar with this conundrum. And I'm not alone: A 2013 analysis by the sports apparel company Fanatics found that 74% of NFL fans root for teams outside their home state.

Fortunately, the Packers are a popular team, among the reasons some of their games aired nationally this season on Sunday and Monday nights, and on Thanksgiving Day. Even based in New York, I could catch these games with a YouTube TV subscription. YouTube TV also provided access to a few Sunday afternoon Packers games on Fox.

But several Packers games fell outside the NFL's regional coverage map, often leaving me with no choice but to watch Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.

Yes, I had access to NFL Redzone through YouTube TV, but that just provided me with occasional peeks at the game I was missing. Indeed, there are plenty of sports bars in New York, but finding one that has access to a Packers game — and will turn it on — is easier said than done.

I prefer to watch from the comfort of my couch, where it's much easier to focus on the broadcast. Though I've heard that VPNs could help me get around regional broadcast restrictions, using one sounds complicated and morally dubious — and would be another subscription to add to my monthly bill.

Sunday Ticket isn't the solution for all fans

That brings us to NFL Sunday Ticket.

As far I can tell, subscribing to the Sunday Ticket package is the only way for fans to guarantee access to every out-of-market game. After last season, the exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket transferred from DirecTV to YouTube TV, which made it accessible to fans who didn't have a satellite dish.

Even Sunday Ticket doesn't cover everything; I'd still need to keep YouTube TV for some local and nationally televised Packers games, but between those two options, I'd be pretty much set.

But here's the problem: Sunday Ticket doesn't come cheap.

If you were already paying over $70 a month for YouTube TV, you could have gotten Sunday Ticket this season for $349 a year — some fans snagged a discounted price during the presale. If you didn't have YouTube TV, it cost you $449.

Password sharing would only have gotten you so far — Sunday Ticket only allows streams in two locations at once.

If the NFL turns to more streaming-exclusive games, like it's done with Amazon and Peacock, even more accessibility and cost hurdles could arise for fans.

A single-team Sunday Ticket package, one which provides only one team's out-of-market games at a discounted price, sounds like a logical option.

The NBA is already doing this. NBA League Pass provides all out-of-market games for roughly $100 a season, while NBA Team Pass provides a single team's out-of-market games for $90.

If the NFL rolled out a single-team package, it might see a ratings boost, drawing in fans who couldn't find their team's game — or turned to piracy as an alternative. But the league, a multi-billion-dollar business, might have little reason to change course.

In 2023, the NFL accounted for 93 of the 100 most-watched television broadcasts, per Nielsen. And despite the cost, over one million people pay for Sunday Ticket.

I guess I should start saving for next season.

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Beijing is unlikely to rescue Evergrande's offshore creditors because it could make things worse at home

A man walks past an Evergrande Group residential complex called Evergrande Palace in Beijing on January 29, 2024.

Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

• A Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande on Monday.
• Beijing is unlikely to ensure that overseas investors get their money back, analysts say.
• The Hong Kong court order may not be enforced in China, where domestic interests rule.

On Monday, Chinese real-estate giant Evergrande was ordered by a Hong Kong court to liquidate after two years in a debt crisis.

The court has appointed Alvarez and Marsal as liquidator to manage the company, Evergrande said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Alvarez and Marsal will now take control of Evergrande's assets and prepare to sell them in order to repay the real-estate developer's debts, which total $300 billion.

However, Beijing is unlikely to ensure that overseas investors get their money back, say analysts.

That's because while Beijing wants to restore foreign investor confidence in China, authorities are probably not keen to start inflating the country's debt-fuelled property bubble again.

"The Chinese leadership faces a delicate tradeoff between attracting foreign investment by maintaining credibility with investors versus holding the real-estate sector on a leash," Emil Møller, the head of research at Steno Research, an independent Denmark-based research company, wrote in a report on January 30.

After all, China was trying to cool its red hot real-estate market when it introduced the "three red lines" policy in August 2020 that regulated debt ratios for property developers. The policy worked — but it sent Evergrande, alongside others in the industry, into a debt spiral.

So, protecting Evergrande's offshore investors probably isn't in Beijing's favor, because it could spur further speculation in the market, Møller added.

Besides, there's likely little to recover from the debt-laden company, experts told Business Insider.

Evergrande's assets are mostly in China, where domestic interests rule

Restoring foreign investor confidence is probably not as important to Beijing as ensuring that money goes back to homebuyers and investors in China, say analysts.

After all, Evergrande was a top developer in China. It has more than 1,300 projects to its name and projects in 280 cities across China. It has built property for over 12 million homeowners, its website states.

That means there are many people in China who have paid for Evergrande homes, many of which have not been completed. In September 2021 — around the time Evergrande's debt crisis went public — about 1.3 million to 1.5 million individuals had already made payments for unfinished homes via pre-sales, according to Swiss private bank Lombard Odier.

That presents a social and political problem for Chinese leader Xi Jinping's regime, which prizes political power over the economy.

"The wind-up of a major property developer like Evergrande could complicate the Chinese government's efforts to support the property sector and ensure the timely delivery of pre-sold homes," wrote Fern Wang, a senior researcher at KT Capital Group in Hong Kong, in a note published on the Smartkarma platform.

"In such a situation, the PRC court may potentially reject the judgment on the grounds of potential harm to public interest," Wang added, referring to the People's Republic of China.

Furthermore, mainland China runs on a different legal system from Hong Kong, so whether Chinese authorities will comply with the order also remains to be seen. Offshore creditors are owed $25 billion, the Hong Kong court document showed, per CNN.

Hao Hong, the partner and chief economist at Grow Investment in Hong Kong, said it's unlikely for shareholders of Hong Kong-listed China Evergrande Group to get anything out of the company's wind-up process, per Reuters. This is because liquidators appointed by Hong Kong's courts are unlikely to have much power over Evergrande's mainland assets, Hong added.

On Monday, Evergrande CEO Siu Shawn told 21st Century Business Herald, a Chinese media outlet, that Hong Kong's liquidation order doesn't affect Evergrande's domestic and overseas subsidiaries that are "separate legal entities." They include Hengda Real Estate Group — Evergrande's primary real-estate development business in mainland China.

He also said Evergrande would ensure the delivery of homes in China.

Hong Kong's court order for Evergrande's liquidation comes at a tricky time for Beijing, as China's economy faces significant headwinds from a property crisis, deflationary pressure, and a demographic crisis.

Market sentiment over China's economy is so bad that the country's stock markets sold down massively last week as investors made a dash for the exit door.

Trading in Hong Kong-listed Evergrande shares has been halted.

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Elon Musk's X blocks searches for Taylor Swift after explicit fake pictures go viral

Taylor Swift at this year's Golden Globes.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

• Elon Musk's X is blocking searches for Taylor Swift.
• Explicit AI-generated pictures of the singer went viral on the platform last week.
• The images have drawn condemnation from figures including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Elon Musk's X is blocking searches for Taylor Swift after explicit AI-generated pictures of the pop superstar went viral last week.

When searching Swift's name, users get an error message saying: "Something went wrong. Try reloading."

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

However, X's head of business operations, Joe Benarroch, told BBC News the action was taken "with an abundance of caution as we prioritize safety on this issue."

X appeared to acknowledge the spread of the fake images in a post on Friday, saying it was working to remove them and "closely monitoring" the situation.

"Posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content," the company said on X's safety account.

Swift is reportedly furious about the images and considering legal action, per the Daily Mail. The images have drawn international condemnation, with public figures criticizing the pictures and their spread.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called the images "alarming and terrible" and called for more "guardrails" on the tech in an interview with NBC Nightly News due to be broadcast Tuesday. The White House also called the images "alarming."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "We know that lax enforcement disproportionately impacts women, and they also impact girls, sadly, who are the overwhelming targets."

She added that while legislation should play a role in tackling the nefarious use of AI, social media platforms should also ensure they banned harmful AI-generated content.

"We believe they have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation and non-consensual, intimate imagery of real people," Jean-Pierre said.

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I fled Ukraine and moved to Colorado. Starting over has been the biggest challenge of my life.

Mykhaylo Fridlyand and his girlfriend, Kristina, in Colorado.

Courtesy of Mykhaylo Fridlyand

• Mykhaylo Fridlyand was on vacation when he heard Russia invaded Ukraine, his home country, in 2022.
• He and his girlfriend decided not to return and spent some time in Greece before moving to the US.
• Now they own a small business in Colorado and have built a life for themselves. They plan to stay.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mykhaylo Fridlyand, 43, who left Ukraine to move to Colorado. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022, I was snowboarding in Andorra with my girlfriend, Kristina. We got wind of what was happening from the news and our friends back home. Zaporizhzhya, where we lived, had been invaded and occupied by Russia.

Everyone we knew told us not to return home. I had built a brand-new house before the war, and Kristina and I had only lived in it for four months, but we left it behind.

A friend offered us their house in Greece, so we stayed there for a few months. Things in Ukraine continued to get worse, and going back looked less and less likely.

Staying in Greece wasn't a long-term solution

I didn't speak the language in Greece and needed to start making money. My savings were running low. I'd been an architect for 20 years in Ukraine. Kristina had her own design studio that she left behind.

We decided we wanted to move to a place where we knew the language and had an understanding of the culture. Though we had never been to the United States before, we made the joint decision to uproot our lives and move to America.

I feel comfortable with American culture

I grew up familiar with the music, the actors, and the movies in American culture. I was always fascinated with the traditions and styles of American people and was even inspired to buy a Dodge Ram truck a few years ago, which I ended up leaving in Ukraine. Because I understood the way of life here and could speak the language, it made coming here feel more comfortable.

Fridlyand's truck he left behind in Ukraine.

Courtesy of Mykhaylo Fridlyand

We sought entry to the United States through Mexico. We flew to Mexico on our own dime. We were then allowed to enter America and live here through a humanitarian program for Ukrainians fleeing the country.

I knew one person in the United States who had moved from Ukraine years ago. He lived in Miami and said Kristina and I could live with him for a few months.

When we arrived in April 2022, I had just the clothes in my suitcase and around $300.

We moved to Colorado in search of new work and money

Fridlyand and Kristina in Colorado.

Courtesy of Mykhaylo Fridlyand

My friend in Miami worked in the construction industry and heard that a Colorado town called Aurora was booming with new homes. He got word that there would be a lot of work for us there, so we moved. He allowed us to live with him there until I started to make money.

A local social-service nonprofit in Colorado connected us with resources and gave me an allowance to help me get on my feet.

I don't have an architect license here, so I used the hands-on skills I had to do construction and handyman work. I helped build things like decks and put walls up in houses.

Once we settled in, I started to brainstorm what other type of work I could do and decided to go with wallpaper and accent-wall painting, since I had experience doing it.

My girlfriend and I started a company together, created a website, researched search-engine optimization, invested in Google ads, and marketed my services. I was able to start booking a steady flow of clients who then referred my services to neighbors and friends.

Our small business now brings in enough money to pay my monthly expenses, including an apartment my girlfriend and I rent.

I miss my family and friends but don't want to go back to Ukraine

Starting over has been the biggest challenge of my life. In Ukraine, I worked very hard because it was my passion and made me a good living. I owned a couple of houses, boats, and cars. All of those are still there and used by my family members.

I thought about going back to Ukraine and joining the army, but a friend who is in the military there advised me not to because my background as an architect wouldn't transfer well in the war.

I often think about the pain of having to start over and the people I love who are still there living in constant danger. I have not seen them since leaving. Every day, I wake up and check the news to see what towns and cities in Ukraine are getting attacked. Then I write to friends or family to see if they are OK. One of my friends who was in the military has died. I'm constantly nervous about my loved ones who are still there.

Even though I miss them, I'm not in a rush to return to Ukraine. I found that people were more judgmental there. I keep my hair long and wear earrings, and people would often ask me about my sexual orientation because of how I looked. I don't find people there to be as open and welcoming as people here in the US.

What I did was scary, but I wish more people considered doing it

A lot of my friends and family are too scared to leave Ukraine, and they don't want to start over. I wish they knew that their new lives could be better than the life that they are living now, especially since living in Ukraine is still very dangerous.

My motto throughout this journey has been to never give up. After living in Aurora for almost two years, my girlfriend and I are very happy here, and we both want to stay in America.

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There may be little to recover in the $300 billion Evergrande debt saga

An Evergrande Real Estate community in China's Jiangsu province.

Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images

• A Hong Kong court has ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande.
• But experts say there may be little to recover.
• One of China's top developers, Evergrande has been in a liquidity crisis since 2021.

China Evergrande — the world's most indebted property developer — received a liquidation order from a Hong Kong court on Monday, but there may be little left to recover, said experts.

The order came more than two years after Evergrande sent the country's property sector into a tailspin.

Liquidators will now take control of the company's assets and prepare to sell them in order to repay the company's debts, which total $300 billion.

An offshore investor named Top Shine Global brought the winding-up lawsuit against Evergrande in 2022. Its proceedings were adjourned multiple times as Evergrande sought more time to restructure its debts.

On Monday, Evergrande applied for another adjournment. But Judge Linda Chan said Evergrande had been unable to offer a concrete restructuring plan and ordered its liquidation.

"It is time for the court to say enough is enough," said Chan, according to Reuters.

Trading in the shares of Evergrande and its subsidiaries was halted on Monday following news of the order. Hong Kong-listed China Evergrande Group's stock price plunged 21% before the court hearing.

Evergrande did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Monday's court order is a far cry from Evergrande's heyday as China's top developer by sales in 2016.

Evergrande has been mired in a liquidity crisis since 2021. It first defaulted on an offshore dollar bond in December of that year. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in August and scraped a restructuring plan in October due to worse-than-expected property sales.

'There are only losers in the collapse of Evergrande'

Siu Shawn, Evergrande's CEO, told local media in China that the real-estate company will still ensure the delivery of homes in China, state-owned Securities Times reported on Monday.

But several experts BI spoke to prior to Monday's court order said Evergrande's liquidation will be challenging.

It's bad news for creditors, Mat Ng, the managing director at Grant Thornton, a professional services firm that specializes in restructuring, told BI.

"Given its scale, a liquidation of Evergrande would be a challenging process and the likely return to creditors would be expected to be low," said Ng.

That's particularly since the Chinese property sector is in the dumps amid sluggish demand and falling home prices — which means any sale of Evergrande's assets is likely to be at fire-sale prices, John Bringardner, the head of Debtwire, a fixed-income data and news provider, told BI in November.

"At this point in the process, there are only losers in the collapse of Evergrande," Bringardner added.

In July, Evergrande cited an analysis by Deloitte that estimated a recovery rate of 3.4% on its debt if the company is liquidated, per Reuters. Creditors now expect the recovery rate at less than 3%, according go the news agency.

Investors also appear to be out of luck, particularly if they're outside of China, and the process of getting their investments may take years.

"Onshore stakeholders are busy working to ensure home purchasers will eventually receive the homes they have paid for one way or another, but retail 'mom and pop' investors in the company's offshore securities will be facing even further uncertainty and delay which would likely continue for years," Daniel Margulies, a partner at Dechert, a law firm that specializes in restructuring in Asia, told BI.

The court order to liquidate Evergrande also signals that problems of this size in China "seemingly cannot be restructured and will likely end up in some form of liquidation, whether onshore or offshore," said Margulies.

Evergrande's liquidation comes as China's economy continues to struggle

Evergrande's liquidation comes as China's economy faces significant headwinds from a property crisis, deflationary pressure, and a demographic crisis.

Market sentiment over China's economy is so bad that the country's stock markets sold down massively last week as investors made a dash for the exit door.

Despite the complications that could come with Evergrande's liquidation, there may be some upside in the longer run.

"Evergrande's liquidation is a sign that China is willing to go to extreme ends to quell the property bubble," Andrew Collier, a managing director at Orient Capital Research, told Reuters.

"This is good for the economy in the long term but very difficult in the short term," he added.

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I'm a delivery driver and I get better tips from apartments than gated communities

A delivery driver in Arkansas says she's noticed that customers in higher-income neighborhoods tend to tip less than those in lower-income apartments.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

• A Walmart Spark driver in Rogers, Arkansas, has noticed a pattern when it comes to customer tipping.
• Deliveries to higher-income neighborhoods tend to leave smaller tips than lower-income areas, she told BI.
• She said tipping culture says a lot about how society values service workers' time.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a driver in Rogers, Arkansas, who delivers primarily with Walmart Spark. She requested anonymity to avoid professional repercussions. Business Insider has verified her employment and identity. The story has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been driving for Spark for about six months. I got laid off from my regular job in November, so I'm doing this until I get a new corporate gig. It has become my full-time, very stressful job until I can get hired somewhere new, but it's pretty slim pickings right now.

I've worked in food service. I've waited tables, tended bar, and barbacked. I've worked for wedding-planning services and other service gigs for supplemental income to my corporate salary.

Here in northwest Arkansas, I see a lot of income inequality, and one thing I've noticed while driving is a disparity in how different communities tip.

Earlier this month, I delivered a heavy, multiple-trips-to-the-door load to a gated community that's 17 minutes from the store, and they tipped me $1.50.

The next day, I brought a COVID test, a sub sandwich, two cartons of orange juice, and some hand sanitizer to an apartment complex, and I got tipped $10. Later that day, another customer at a nearby apartment tipped more than $12 on an $80 grocery order.

I understand part of how rich people stay rich is that they don't give their money away, but when they use this service for convenience and tip poorly, it tells me that they don't see me as a person.

They don't consider the humanity of the person who is driving to deliver their orders.

They are of course 100% within their rights to make that order and tip as they see fit, but it just increases the dissatisfaction and hatred toward the upper class from working-class people.

To be a member of the working poor — and to see that the rich really don't see you or your time as valuable — is very disheartening when you live in a place where there's a McMansion 15 to 20 yards away from a trailer park.

There are two main supercenters in my area: Walmart store No. 5260, which is south of town on Pleasant Crossing Boulevard, and Walmart store No. 1, which is located in the middle of Rogers.

Pleasant Crossing is near the rich part of town, while the Rogers store is located in the heart of old downtown Rogers, closer to the nursing homes and apartment complexes. It's not the worst part of town, but it's also not exactly the best.

Even so, I'll try anything I can to stick to the store downtown, because I know I'm going to end up with better tips.

It's the same thing when you talk to other types of delivery workers in the area. Whether they deliver pizzas or drive for DoorDash, they'll tell you the same thing: We'd rather stay close to the hood and near the bars, because we know we're going to get better tips.

These experiences leave me disappointed, but not surprised.

I grew up here, and I've experienced living at many economic levels in northwest Arkansas.

Whether I was living with my parents when I was younger, working at a great-paying corporate gig, or being a single parent, I've had my share of financial ups and downs.

There is a major disconnect in this country between how we value time based on our present position in society, and how we value other people's time based on their position.

I'm not going to say those people living in the gated community don't deserve to be in that gated community. Whether it's by virtue of birth or hard work, they're there.

But to forget what it's like to not live in that gated community — to forget or not even understand because you've had access to wealth for multiple generations — to not know what it's like to rely on tip income to survive and to protect and provide for your family is just disheartening to see.

There needs to be a conversation about how people who are in positions of economic power view and value those who aren't — and how they rely on our labor.

If you think I should be paid a fair wage and shouldn't rely on tips, don't use services that require me to not have a fair wage and to rely on tips.

The only time I use DoorDash or Spark is when I can afford a reasonable tip. I know the drivers get paid a certain amount from the store, and whenever I tip, I assume I'm the only order they'll have for that hour.

So I try to make sure they're making at least $15 an hour because they're letting me stay home and not put on hard pants.

I think my time and their time are worth that $15, and that's why I think the tipping culture is different between those who have a lot and those who are just getting by.

As somebody who has been a waitress, if you don't have money to tip, you don't have money to go out to eat.

If you can't tip me to serve you a meal, you should probably pick up your order or go to a drive-thru.

When asked for comment on this story, a Walmart spokesperson referred Business Insider to a prior statement on tipping.

"We understand tipping is an important part of the driver experience and are proud that most customers leave tips," the spokesperson said, adding that drivers retain 100% of customer tips. "We're continuously exploring new features and enhancements to give drivers the best possible experience."

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I used Google's new AI Art Selfie feature to become a 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'

Art Selfie 2 has a pretty liberal interpretation of Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Screenshot from Art Selfie 2

• Google just brought back its Art Selfie feature — with a generative AI upgrade.
• Users can reimagine selfies in the style of famous paintings. 
• You can also receive facts about each painting or the chosen artistic style.

Since generative AI took the world by storm, we've seen myriad ways to reimagine the human face, from Lensa's self-portraits to convincing digital renditions of real people.

Personally, though, I've been waiting for a tool that helps users see themselves in famous works of art.

Earlier this week, Google launched Art Selfie 2 — a new feature under its Arts & Culture app that uses generative AI to blend your selfies into over 25 artistic styles.

You can see how you'd look in a Renaissance painting, as an attendee at Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party," or Johannes Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Art Selfie 2 is a revamp of a feature Google launched in 2018, which compared your selfies with famous works of art. The original tool relied on computer vision and machine learning to give users an estimate of how well your face matched a particular painting. Business Insider reached out to Google for additional comment on the specific AI technology its new tool relies on.

Here's what it's like to use the Art Selfie 2 feature.

Start by downloading Google's Arts & Culture app.

Google launched its Arts & Culture app back in 2016.

Screenshot from Apple's App Store.

Art Selfie 2 is part of Google's Arts & Culture app, a platform for art and cultural content from over 2,000 cultural institutions. Google first launched the app back in 2016 intending to make it easier for users to learn about specific art pieces.

The revamp, however, was born out of Google's Artists in Residence program, which commissions artists to create original artworks in a range of Google spaces across the world.

Take a selfie and choose an artistic style.

Art Selfie 2 has a pretty liberal interpretation of Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Screenshot from Art Selfie 2

I've always been a fan of Vermeer so I opted for the "Vermeer's Pearl Earring" style.

Aside from this being a pretty liberal interpretation of the original painting, I was surprised by how well Art Selfie 2 integrated my picture into the style. It looks more like I took a picture wearing a colorful, 17th-century Dutch outfit instead of an AI-generated selfie. I could also see this as a good resource for anyone who needs inspiration in choosing a Halloween costume.

Art Selfie 2 also provides context on each artistic style.

The tool gives users some brief context on each artistic style.

Screenshot from Art Selfie 2

The identity of the "girl" in the painting has been a point of speculation among art historians for years, and to me, that only adds to the intrigue of the potentially millions of people who will substitute their faces into Art Selfie 2's interpretation.

It's also great if you need a laugh.

Here I'm trying the Italian Renaissance mode.

Screenshot from Art Selfie 2

I kept laughing at my desk every time I looked at my selfies …hopefully, I didn't disturb my colleagues too much.

Google's latest AI art tool is a great way to entertain yourself between meetings or a fun outlet if you ever need a laugh. It was a good reminder never to take yourself too seriously.

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The pros and cons of popular fitness and wellness wearables, from Fitbits and Apple Watches to glucose monitors

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Apple, Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty, miodrag ignjatovic/Getty, Tyler Le/Business Insider

Knowledge is power, the saying goes, so you may be tempted to use wearables to track your health data in the hopes of preventing or managing an illness or hitting certain fitness goals.

You'd be joining the millions of others seduced by the idea that more data will mean better health, as the global fitness tracking industry is estimated to be worth over $74 billion in 2024, up from $46 billion in 2020, according to Statista.

Personalized data — collected using devices such as the best smartwatches or rings — can help people understand how their body reacts to different factors from drinking alcohol or a new diet to smoking, Livvy Probert, a personal trainer, sports scientist, and head of science at personal health assessment company Hawq Score, told Business Insider.

But it can be hard to know which of the seemingly endless array of devices is worth spending money on.

Plus, it's important to take the data, which might not be entirely accurate, with a pinch of salt, Probert said. That doesn't mean the best fitness trackers aren't helpful, it just means you shouldn't take their data as gospel.

The root of the problem lies in the fact it's hard to track individuals with the same tech when we are all different.

And while many brands conduct their own studies, Probert said there's a lack of large-scale, independent research on the accuracy of wearable fitness trackers, further complicated by the fact that the technology is developing all the time.

One small 2017 study of 60 people by Stanford University suggested that most fitness trackers are inaccurate, overestimating calorie burn by up to 93%, while a 2018 meta-analysis of 60 studies found they struggle in particular with less intense forms of movement. Fitness trackers can't know our metabolic rates and how much muscle we have compared to body fat, which affects our energy expenditure.

With that in mind, Probert said to think about what's most important to you (step count, GPS tracking, or sleep metrics, for example) and to choose a wearable that can best help you measure that data and spot trends over time, without comparing yourself to others.

"It is more about looking at the trends than the individual data points," she said. And, Probert cautioned, it's important not to stop listening to your body and checking in with how you feel when using such devices. Don't blindly follow the guidance of your wearable, and make sure checking your data doesn't become an unhealthy obsession, she said.

Fitbit

Fitbit has a range of models.

Fitbit

One of the first and most popular fitness trackers on the market, Fitbit has come a long way from its start in 2009 when it sold a glorified pedometer.

Fitbit has various wrist-worn devices (with and without screens) that measure steps, stress, workouts, calories burned, and sleep, and some also function as smartwatches and GPS trackers. Other metrics that can be tracked via the companion Fitbit app (by manually logging data) include blood glucose, menstrual health, weight, and meals and water.

Fitbit Premium provides advanced insights into sleep and stress, workouts, and a daily readiness score, which means how energized and rested you are and thus whether you should push yourself or prioritize recovery. It costs $9.99 monthly, whereas the basic Fitbit app is free.

Fitbits themselves range from $79.95 to $399.95.

Who is a Fitbit good for?

Probert said Fitbits are good entry-level devices that are easy to use and provide basic activity tracking.

"They're easy to understand, easy to use, and fairly non-invasive," Probert said. "If you're someone that just wants to keep an eye on your activity levels, your steps, how much you're moving, they're a really good way to keep you active."

What are the cons of a Fitbit?

If you're more serious about your health and fitness — "a massive fitness geek," as Probert put it — you might want something a bit more in-depth, she said.

Oura

The Oura Ring shows all data on the app.

Oura

What is an Oura Ring?

The Oura Ring stands out in a world of wrist-based trackers because it's a ring.

The rings come in two styles and multiple colors such as gold, rose gold, silver, matte black, brushed titanium, and black.

Prices range from $299 to $549 for the ring, and there's a $5.99 monthly membership fee too.

All data is shown in the app, including resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep stages, workout heart rates, blood oxygen levels, menstrual cycle insights and period prediction, calories burned, steps, and more.

Every day, the app gives you a sleep score and then an activity goal based on how well-rested your body is, which is referred to as your "readiness" score.

Who is the Oura Ring good for?

If you don't like the look or feel of wrist-based trackers, already have a watch you love, or want something that won't look out of place with a formal outfit, an Oura Ring could appeal to you.

"They're very sleek, they're very minimalistic, they're so noninvasive," Probert said. "Most people don't realize you are wearing a wearable, there's no screen, nothing to distract you, you don't get notifications coming through."

Oura prides itself on having as accurate information as possible. For example, research found that the Oura Ring measures resting heart rate at 99.9% reliability compared to a medical-grade electrocardiogram. It's worth noting that Oura supported the study by providing equipment and software, and some of the authors were employed by Oura. However, the company was not involved in the study's design or collection and analysis of the results.

If you're already active and want to learn more about when to push yourself and when to ease up, Oura's recovery data could help understand how to limit over-training, Probert said.

What are the cons of Oura?

If you want a tracker with a display screen on the device, the Oura Ring isn't for you. Equally, if you're looking to go from sedentary to some movement, the Oura Ring is probably more detailed than you need.

For some forms of exercise, such as lifting weights and rowing, wearing a ring can feel uncomfortable. So, if you want detailed workout information and plan to use your hands, bear that in mind.

And with the monthly fee, it can get expensive if used long-term.

Whoop

The Whoop band comes in different colors.

Whoop

What is Whoop?

The Whoop strap rose to popularity among the CrossFit community in the late 2010s but now they are regularly seen on the wrists of all kinds of fitness fans.

There's no screen on the fabric strap, all data is shown in the app.

Whoop is designed around balancing three pillars: sleep, recovery, and strain (or movement and stress on your body), and gives users scores for each pillar each day, thus helping them know whether to push themselves in the gym, take it easy, or get an early night. Designed for athletes and highly active people, it was one of the first trackers to focus as much on recovery as movement.

In 2023, Whoop launched an AI coach, designed to offer personalized health and fitness coaching. For example, if it thinks you're overexerting yourself in a workout, it will tell you.

When joining Whoop, the strap is free, but you pay $239 for a 12-month membership.

Who is Whoop for?

If you're interested in balancing your activity and recovery, Whoop is a quality choice. It will also appeal to people who love data, Probert said.

The strap is moveable and doesn't get in the way of most forms of exercise, however, it can be difficult when playing contact sports such as rugby. (To combat this, Whoop created sports bras to hold the tracker.)

Like the Oura Ring, if you don't want a screen or notifications popping up on your device, Whoop is a good choice.

"The level of coaching involved in the Whoop is excellent," Probert said. "There's so much you can learn about yourself but also health in general."

What are the cons of Whoop?

If you want to know your daily step count, Whoop is not for you. The company says it doesn't offer that data because steps aren't the be-all and end-all, and it believes overall movement is what matters most concerning your health. Athletes may, for instance, be less worried about their steps and more about their overall training load, Probert said.

However, she said step count can be a really useful metric, especially for those just getting into fitness. Doing a few gym workouts a week is great, but making sure you're not too sedentary the rest of the time is valuable too, Probert said.

Like the Oura Ring, Whoop gives more detail and data than beginners likely need, she said.

The look of the Whoop might not suit everyone's style outside the gym, and the fabric strap can feel uncomfortably soggy when wet. And if you want to use it long-term, the membership fee can mean it gets expensive.

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch comes in a range of colors and straps.

Apple

What is the Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch is more than just a smartwatch and now offers many advanced health- and fitness-tracking features. They measure steps, active calorie burn, blood oxygen levels, the menstrual cycle, sleep patterns, and workouts, including heart rate zones, power, and elevation.

In addition to functions you'd expect from a smartphone but on your wrist, including texting, making calls, and listening to music, the Apple Watch offers a mindfulness app as well that encourages users to relax and breathe mindfully throughout the day.

These wearables can also detect if a user has been in a serious car crash or had a bad fall, connect them with emergency services, share their location, and notify their emergency contacts.

You don't need to pay a monthly fee to use any Apple Watch model, which starts at $399. However, there is the option to buy an Apple Fitness+ subscription, which offers streaming workout classes and custom fitness and health plans for $9.99 a month.

The Apple Watch is available in three different models including the budget-friendly and entry-level Apple Watch SE, the standard Apple Watch Series 9, and the advanced, ruggedly designed Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Who is the Apple Watch good for?

If you want something on your wrist that does everything — watch, phone, and activity tracker — and your primary smartphone is an iPhone, then the Apple Watch is a good way to go. And while upfront costs may be steep, the lack of a monthly subscription could be attractive.

"They are very good all-rounders if you want the smartwatch with notifications, phone calls, using some of your apps, but you are also very health conscious. They're probably one of the best at bringing all of it together," Probert said.

What are the cons of an Apple Watch?

With so much information in one place, the Apple Watch could become a distraction for some people, Probert said.

She also thinks it's possibly not as useful for serious fitness fans as some of the more athlete-focused wearables from a brand like Garmin. 

Additionally, folks who use an Android smartphone should look elsewhere as the Apple Watch isn't compatible with phones using the Android operating system. They can instead opt for any of the best Android smartwatches. 

Continuous glucose monitors

Continuous glucose monitors were designed for diabetics.

Getty

What are continuous glucose monitors?

A different kind of wearable, CGMs, such as those used in the Zoe personalized nutrition program, are round discs that stick to the upper arm and monitor your blood sugar levels.

Unlike finger prick tests, the best glucometers take continual readings to provide near-real-time data on how blood sugar levels respond to different foods, drinks, and activities.

Originally designed for diabetics and pre-diabetics, CGMs are increasingly being marketed to the general population as a tool for improving health and athletic performance, despite little evidence supporting the idea that healthy people need to be concerned about their blood sugar levels.

There are various brands of CGMs, such as Levels and Lingo. Levels, for example, cost $398 initially, which includes one month's worth of CGMs and the annual membership fee of $199.

Who are CGMs good for?

If you're diabetic or pre-diabetic, a CGM can be exceptionally helpful, Dr. Nicola Guess, a clinical dietitian and researcher specializing in diabetes at the University of Oxford, previously told BI.

"In diabetes, your blood sugar potentially very regularly could be reaching really high concentrations to a degree that can be doing you harm," Guess said. "It can also suddenly go really low, which could cause you to faint, to fall into a coma, and can potentially even cause death. So a tool that enables you in real-time to know exactly what your blood glucose is, is a great tool in diabetes, even if it's just empowering and even if it's just knowledge."

What are the cons of CGMs?

Non-diabetics don't need to worry about their blood sugar at all, Guess said. Fluctuations are normal, and there's no evidence that spikes and drops increase hunger.

"For many folks who don't have diabetes, it's not particularly interpretable information for them, and it could be causing them to be more alarmed than they need to be," Charles Brenner, a biochemist who chairs the Department of Diabetes and Cancer Metabolism at City of Hope in Los Angeles, previously told BI.

For some people, trying to avoid blood sugar rises unnecessarily could lead to unwarranted carb avoidance, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies. Equally, exercise raises blood sugar levels, but of course, is very good for us to do.

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